Chiropractic adjustment devices and tables are well known in the art and are conventionally used in administering adjustments and treatments of vertebral areas that exhibit abnormal structures. Such devices are used in delivering specific, high-velocity applications of force in varying techniques, in which an objective is to precisely align the spinal components, as well as freeing immobile joints. Chiropractic tables, for example, typically have drop mechanisms that allow a section of the table to drop and thus, facilitate the osseous adjustment.
A significant number of such treatments involve serious whiplash injuries, when an individual's spine, usually their neck, buckles from being unexpectedly or suddenly thrown rapidly in one direction and then in the opposite direction. Whiplash damage may involve complex effects, including soft tissue injuries such as ligament damage. Similar injuries typically occur from other serious accidents, such as those related to certain sports activities.
Various prior art arrangements relating to the support and treatment of those neck and skull regions address primarily non-chiropractic applications. As an example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,386,134 discloses a portable, compact surgical fixture for engaging and supporting the head/neck of a patient, to facilitate nasal or throat surgery. U.S. Pat. No. 5,467,490 provides a neck cradle having a flexible bar member for supporting the neck, in order to relieve muscle tension in the neck and shoulders. U.S. Pat. No. 5,491,855 discloses an appliance for use in physical therapy, having a cervical tee which supports the neck to apply a continuous force at the head-neck interface.
Essentially, those and other relevant prior art arrangements provide support devices for surgery or physical therapy purposes. They do not mention the chiropractic correction of the skull and cervical regions. Nor do they address injuries resulting from whiplash.
Typical problems resulting from such injuries include fixation, reverse cervical curve and retro/antero listhesis (i.e. spinal malalignment due to one vertebra being positioned behind or in front of the other) of the C3 to C6 vertebrae, and flexion problems of the C0/C1 joint (i.e. the neck does not flex forward). It is often difficult to precisely and safely correct such damage by conventional chiropractic techniques. The present invention overcomes these problems by disclosing a device designed to aid in the chiropractic adjustment of such common and serious problems.